calling all audiophiles

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
we dont have e90 or e100s in store,

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible

Would you still be able to get the e90s/e100s?
Just have to order them special?

Do you plan on turning this into a Hometheater eventually?

 

[Meuge]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
we dont have e90 or e100s in store,

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible

You could have had Wilsons or the Nautilus 801s in the store, and they would have still sounded horrible. Equipment and room have a collossal impact on the sound of speakers.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Meuge

Originally posted by: Snakexor
we dont have e90 or e100s in store,

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible

You could have had Wilsons or the Nautilus 801s in the store, and they would have still sounded horrible. Equipment and room have a collossal impact on the sound of speakers.

What do you suggest he do then?

 

[Snakexor]

eventually going ht, but for now, i want them for music

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
eventually going ht, but for now, i want them for music

For an eventual HT set, a sub is going to be a really good thing to have.

If that's the plan eventually, I'd be leaning towards the mid-level floorstanders and a sub to go with them.

 

[Meuge]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Meuge

Originally posted by: Snakexor
we dont have e90 or e100s in store,

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible

You could have had Wilsons or the Nautilus 801s in the store, and they would have still sounded horrible. Equipment and room have a collossal impact on the sound of speakers.

What do you suggest he do then?

Take a pair of F2s home, listen to them. If he doesn't like them, he can bring them back.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Meuge

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Meuge

Originally posted by: Snakexor
we dont have e90 or e100s in store,

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible

You could have had Wilsons or the Nautilus 801s in the store, and they would have still sounded horrible. Equipment and room have a collossal impact on the sound of speakers.

What do you suggest he do then?

Take a pair of F2s home, listen to them. If he doesn't like them, he can bring them back.

But isn't the sound system going to be in a house he doesn't have access to right now?

Seems like the final listening environment is kind of an unknown factor here.

 

[Snakexor]

this is the house

http://www.bergerrealty.com/

go to 2006 rentals, then jus search, then ctrl f and type in brig, first house highlighted

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
this is the house

http://www.bergerrealty.com/

go to 2006 rentals, then jus search, then ctrl f and type in brig, first house highlighted

Do you have access to it where you could bring in some different speakers to demo?

 

[Snakexor]

probably not, its an hour and a half drive from where i live....

im assuming it wil be put in the corner of a room, going towards the rest of the house which should be open for the most part, it will be nothing huge

 

[evilentity]

I second the recommendation to look for used equipment. Since you're going 2-channel, a receiver is unnecessary, a low end integrated amp can be had for $200-400 and would be better sounding than pretty much any receiver. I don't use speakers, so I can't make any comments on what to look for there.
No matter which direction you go, however, you will be source limited. Neither .ogg files nor any x-fi/audigy card will do justice to a decent integrated amp and speakers.
With your source, I would look at audio asylum's forums. They have an immense amount of information on vintage receivers, which will generally outperform anything in the price range you are looking at. Most of them retailed for $200-500 in the 70's and 80's and are available on ebay for $30-100. High end Amplification has changed very little in the last 20 years, so you're really just looking for the cleanest output you can find.
Speakers are much more difficult. The best way to choose would be to hook them up with whatever amplification and source you will use and then play a wide variety of music. Its similar to how you would choose headphones, but the differences will be much smaller between pairs of speakers than with pairs of headphones.

If you were to ever move to a higher budget, headroom has absolutely wonderful headphone amps which can be configured to act as both a high end dac and preamp, effectively removing the x-fi from your music setup and leaving you with a wide variety of choices for amplification.

 

[InlineFour]

i'll tell you what my HT speakers consist of:

all jbl northridge series
ec35 center
e90 mains
e30 surrounds
svs pb10-isd subwoofer

all together, i don't think i could have setup a better sound system for under $1500. you can probably save a little money by going with the e80s rather than the e90s. the difference between the two are the woofers. however, the e90's woofers are pretty much useless if you have a good subwoofer. therefore, save some money and go with the e80s and spend the extra on a better sub. no party is good without gut punching bass.

 

[Pariah]

The room will make little difference for a system in this price range used for this purpose. I don't get the impression he is going to be sitting around with a bunch of classical music buffs holding critical listening sessions in his summer rental. For a system that's just going to be blasted so you can disturb the migrating patterns of birds for miles around, how and where the 2 speakers are setup is irrelevant.

we have f1,f2,f3s in store, and i think they sound horrible

Then for obvious reasons, I would recommend against getting those. Your own ears are the best judge for speakers. If you can't listen to them before you buy, you shouldn't buy them. If you don't have demo models on hand at your store, have them order the candidates you are looking at, and compare them head to head for yourself. That's the only guaranteed way to get the set that is best for you.

 

[RanDum72]

The Pioneer receiver you mentioned is actually very decent. I'm kinda partial to Yamaha receivers but that Pioneer has plenty of muscle. Athena speakers are made by the same company that makes Energy speakers. Very nice tonal quality but lacking in the low end so its not a rock and roll speaker. The best speakers of all the options you gave that I've listened to are the JBL's, especially the one's with the seperate midrange drivers. You can throw any type of sound material at them and they sound good.

Or you can try Bose.....(hehe)...

 

[Snakexor]

omfgzors, sold on the bose

 

[JEDIYoda]

This isn`t an audiophile thread at all.
You guys talking $500 or even $1,000 dollars is chump change to a true audiophile....

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm actually using a Pioneer 1014 right now and it's working fine for me.

My speakers are 6ohms and 88dB sensitivity with a 4ohm center that's 91dB for sensitivity.

I've had no problems getting all the output I need with it and I'm quite happy with it overall. I picked it up as a floor model at Best Buy for $287.

The 1015 offers another component input as one of the main upgrades from the 1014.

If you're going HT eventually, I think a receiver is probably the way to go vs an integrated amp.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
This isn`t an audiophile thread at all.
You guys talking $500 or even $1,000 dollars is chump change to a true audiophile....

Isn't it a given on Anandtech that if it has "audiophile" in the title, that it's not an audiophile thread?

When was the last time there was a real "audiophile" thread on Anandtech anyway?

 

[Snakexor]

i meant audiophile in the fact that im not talking about some cheap logitech set or something like, i want quality speakers that will last me a while and that i can rock the house with

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
i meant audiophile in the fact that im not talking about some cheap logitech set or something like, i want quality speakers that will last me a while and that i can rock the house with

Yeah, I know what you meant, but the word "audiophile" tends to bring up a definition debate in most threads that it's used in.

 

[Chesebert]

yamaha receiver? Monster cable? oh..boy...those are consumer stuff not audiophile .... spend the $800 on a nice DAC and get a Emu sound card and you will now have a source most audiophile would agree with. Oh..you better come up with few more grand for your other goodies... tube preamp, mono block amp, nice interconnects, filtered power supply, some spare tubes, and some nice power cables. ....oh..and get a pair of speaker while you are out shopping

 

[alcoholbob]

And it's usually a derogatory term. Usually denotes people who spend a lot on marginal benefits. Said indivuals have been known to "downgrade" after doing actual listening tests after years of using dubious audio terms with like minded inviduals : P

Most people prefer to call themselves "audio enthusiasts." People who try to spend a fair buck to maximize performance. I think that's where the confusion lies. There is also a large group of forum members who consider anything above a Logitech X-5500 is a marginal benefit and said users are audiophools...but I think they are just in denial, like those at the top of the spectrum, neither ascribe to scientific tests to proove their claims, just mob mentality..

As for JBL, they probably are the best budget speakers you can get at Best Buy (unless you are a horn fan). It's not a bad decision if you are trying to build an HT off of Best Buy connections, and you definitely would have trouble doing better for the cost. But for say a hundred bucks more per speaker, yeah you can do alot better via online purchases.

The main argument for seperates over receivers is high current power supplies. That's not going to last very long. In a couple years a fair chunk of seperates owners will be switching to digitally amplified receivers. Then you get the best of both worlds and save money too : )

 

[GamerExpress]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'm no audiophile

Why does it say "soundman" under your avatar.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: GamerExpress

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'm no audiophile

Why does it say "soundman" under your avatar.

Because I post in a lot of auidio threads and the Mods thought it was appropriate

I'm more into Hometheater audio than music, and I think audiophile has more of a musical connotation. Even if I was really into music, my equipment is midrange at best and doesn't really fit in with an "audiophile" description.

 

[GamerExpress]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: GamerExpress

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I'm no audiophile

Why does it say "soundman" under your avatar.

Because I post in a lot of auidio threads and the Mods thought it was appropriate

I'm more into Hometheater audio than music, and I think audiophile has more of a musical connotation. Even if I was really into music, my equipment is midrange at best and doesn't really fit in with an "audiophile" description.

I was just messing with you anyway. I just finished up my home theater room at home, it's awesome!!!! I went with an Infocus 7205, and a Denon AVR-3806 pushing out through some Atlantic Technologies 4200e system.

What do you think about that?